This summer has been a busy one for us so far, with a 2-week family vacation to Minnesota and Wisconsin and projects around our home! Now that I’m back home and in the swing of things, it’s time for completing my monthly cleaning jobs for July, starting with the dining room organization!
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out my Deep Cleaning Schedule for Your Whole Home. It’s a schedule I made to help lift the load off your spring cleaning. I divided the different deep cleaning and organizing jobs in the home between the twelve months. Having this schedule will help relieve some stress we busy moms have! So, we cleaned the kitchen last month. This month we’re moving on over to the dining room first. Keep reading for some tips and inspiration for your tackling your dining room cleaning and organization!
July’s Cleaning Jobs:
- Deep clean and organize the dining room.
- Clean and organize the bonus room/playroom/basement.
- Replace air filters.
Dining Room Organization & Cleaning
What You’ll Need:
- Murphy Oil Wood Cleaner Spray (Seventh Generation’s Wood Cleaner is another, less toxic, option.)
- Microfiber Cloths
- ECOS Glass Cleaner
- Vacuum – I love our Shark Lift-Away
- Broom
- Shark Steam Mop
What to Do:
1. Clean the Dining Room Table and Chairs
First off, I use Murphy’s Oil Wood Cleaner to clean and shine my tables and chairs.
It does not have the safest, cleanest ingredients ever (even though it says “98% naturally derived ingredients!). Two of the ingredients listed are “preservative” and “fragrance.” I prefer using products that list EXACTLY what is in them. The preservative could very well be parabens, which can alter your hormones.
However, I try to be frugal and finish a product all the way before purchasing/making something new. And wood cleaner is not something I am AS concerned about, since I’m not putting it on my body and it’s not soaking in my skin and into my bloodstream. The Murphy’s Oil actually works really well and leaves the wood furniture looking clean and shiny.
Here’s a recipe for natural, homemade wood cleaner I plan on making when I run out of Murphy’s.
Start by removing everything from your table.
For any product that you use on your furniture, test a small area first to make sure it doesn’t remove the finish. Murphy’s, and most other wood cleaners, are for cleaning and polishing FINISHED wood furniture. If your table and chairs are made of unfinished wood, use a dry or lightly damp cloth and wipe away any dust or marks.
After you’ve tested a small section and made sure it works for your furniture, start cleaning the table. Spray a little of the wood cleaner at a time on the table and scrub to remove any food, dirt, or, like in our case, paint from art projects. Cleaning with a product like Murphy’s Oil Soap will also help your wood furniture look nice and shiny!
Our dining room table serves for both eating and for art projects. My parent’s got it when I was a little girl and passed it down to me. So it might be about time or a new one!
Make sure to get in any grooves in your table, as food somehow makes its way into them so well.
Clean and shiny finished product!
Then follow the same process to clean your dining room chairs. If your chairs are padded, vacuum them with your vacuum’s hose attachment and wipe them clean with a damp microfiber cloth.
Watch my video for more tips on cleaning and organizing your dining room to make it functional for your family.
2. Clean the Hutch and Other Dining Room Furniture
To clean the hutch (or any other furniture you have in your dining room), first clear the shelves and cabinets of all dishes/decor. I spray the Murphy Oil Soap onto my microfiber cloth and gently wipe the entire surface of the hutch. I hand-painted my hutch; so I am careful not to scrub it hard to avoid rubbing the paint off.
Just like with the table, make sure you wipe in all the grooves, as well as the knobs and pulls.
If your hutch has glass on it, like mine does, clean the glass with your window cleaner and a clean microfiber cloth or paper towels.
Once your hutch is clean and dust-free, neatly place the items back on the shelves and in the cabinets. This is a great time to take inventory of the things you have in your dining room. If there’s anything that you don’t like or use anymore, set it aside to sell or give away. Like dishes you’ve had forever, but barely pull them out to use. Consider clearing some space in your home and selling those items.
Once you’ve decided what items you still love and are keeping, put them neatly with like items back on the shelves.
3. Polish the Silverware
If you have real silverware, check to see if it is in need of cleaning and polishing. If it is tarnished at all, it’s time for a good polishing.
To polish the silverware, first, put the plug in your kitchen sink and place the silverware in the sink. Then pour white distilled vinegar in the sink to just cover the silverware. Next sprinkle about 2 Tablespoons of baking soda over the silverware. The baking soda and vinegar will react to remove any tarnish. Let it sit for about 2 hours. Then rinse each piece of silverware with water and dry it well. This trick works so well!
4. Organize the Art Supplies
If you read my May Cleaning post where I organized the attic, you saw that I kept our art supplies in a few containers up there. My son Jackson also had some art supplies in his room.
The boys have been doing art projects almost daily lately, and having supplies up in the attic was not working. AND I do not like having similar things spread out in different areas in the home. I wanted all the art supplies to be in ONE area. So, I recently ordered and put together this white rolling cart to organize our art supplies in. And I love it!
I got these cute little metal cups from the Target dollar section a few years ago. I’m a teacher; so I have tons of them! I organized pencils in one, colored pencils in another, crayons in two, and scissors/hole punchers in another one. Along with those cups, I also have paint and extra crayon boxes on the first shelf.
On the second shelf I have craft lace, string, and foam stickers. The third shelf contains miscellaneous things like pom poms, feathers, googly eyes, and glue. And the bottom shelf has our yarn and construction paper. You can check out my Instagram organization highlight for more on how I organized the art cart.
We don’t use our dining room for many fancy dinners, and don’t have a super expensive table. So having the art cart here and having the kids do their art projects at the dining room table works great for us. I’m a believer in functionality and comfort in the home over fanciness. It’s so nice having everything they need right there where they do their projects. And they’ve been doing a great job putting the supplies away where they go when they’re done!
5. Clean the Floors
Lastly, whenever you deep clean a room you should end with cleaning the floors. Start by vacuuming your dining room rug.
Use the hose attachment to get any crumbs around the table’s legs.
Lift the rug up and sweep up any dirt under it. Finally, finish sweeping and mopping the rest of the floor. I love our Shark Steam Mop. I add a few drops of lemon essential oil into the water reservoir to give the room a fresh scent and to help disinfect the floor without any harsh chemicals.
Let me know how your dining room cleaning goes! Do you like functionality in your dining room or do you like it to look pretty and be ready for fancy dinners with guests?
